What should you do if you’re in the wilderness without a watch and want to know the time? Based on the basic knowledge of Earth’s rotation and the Moon’s orbit, during the day you can judge the correct time by the movement of the sun, and at night by the movement of the moon. However, this is related to factors such as the season, latitude, and longitude, so it’s not very accurate.
If you have a compass or a magnetized needle, you can stand a matchstick upright in the center of the compass or magnetic needle. When the compass or magnetic needle points to true north and south, observe the direction of the shadow cast by the matchstick. If the shadow points west (W), it is morning; if it points east (E), it is afternoon; if it points due north (N), it is noon. By observing the movement trajectory of the shadow, you can determine the time from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
You can also make a simple sundial yourself: use two pieces of thick cardboard, align them according to the complementary angle of your local latitude, and draw a dial face marked clockwise from 1 to 24 on the top piece of cardboard. Insert a needle in the center of the dial. When setting up the sundial, the dial face should face north. From March to September, you can set up the dial as described above. From October to February, you should insert the needle upside down through the top piece of cardboard and draw the dial face counterclockwise on the back.
At night, you can use the moon to tell the time. The moon takes about 12 hours to move from east to west, rotating approximately 15 degrees per hour. You can estimate the time by observing the current phase of the moon and its position in the sky.
To measure time based on the movement of stars, one of the simplest methods is to imagine a straight line drawn from the North Star to the bottom edge of the bowl of the Little Dipper, specifically to star β. Imagine this line as the hand of a clock, with the position of the North Star as the center of the dial. You can then read the time as you would on a 12-hour clock face. This requires you to regularly observe the night sky during clear nights when you have access to a clock, memorize the positions, so that you can easily tell time using this method when needed.
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